Close encounter for young surfers
Pair of pre-teen brothers more excited than terrified about their shark shock in the Omanu Beach shallows
When a 12-year-old surfer came within touching distance of a shark at Omanu Beach, his first reaction was to stay calm and quietly lead his younger brother away from danger.
The shark, guessed to be over 2m, was spotted close to the shoreline between Oceanbeach Rd and Marine Parade in Tauranga at 2.20pm on Wednesday.
“He didn’t want to freak his younger brother out so didn’t tell him until after he was out of the water,” mother Jane Trask said.
But the boys were not fazed and Trask said it was only an hour before they ran back in the surf for another go.
“I told them how sharks don’t travel in packs and you just have to be aware when you’re in the water and hop out if you see something.”
She estimated the shark’s length by comparing the length of her boys’ surfboard to the length between the shark’s dorsal fin and the tail.
Trask took a video of the shark on her phone. The boys can be heard yelling excitedly between each other. “It’s going to beach itself!” one said. “I’m going in the water!” said the other.
“Mum, I’ve never been so close to a shark!”
Later in the day, about 5.30pm, another local spotted the shark and followed it with his friend for about 2km.
Martin Stewart said he followed it back towards Omanu where he saw other young children boogie boarding in the surf.
“They were told to get out of the water by their parents and both the parents and the kids seemed a bit freaked out,” Stewart said.
He also agreed the shark was about 2m long.
Shark scientist Dr Riley Elliott said even as it was getting colder, it was not uncommon to see the sharks so close to the shoreline.
“The weather right now is balmier than it otherwise would be so we’re still seeing a lot of sea life activity,” Elliott said.
He said the shark had a 99 per cent chance of being a bronze whaler as most in the Mount Maunganui and Pa¯pa¯moa areas were.
“They are pretty much harmless to people unless you overlap with fishing and disposing of fish.”